KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 6): Datuk Zaiton Mohd Hassan, an experienced Malaysian finance professional, has been elected as the new president of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

She will lead more than 266,000 members and 546,000 future members across 179 countries during her year of office, the global accountancy body said in a statement on Friday. She was first elected to ACCA’s Council in 2016 and has served as its vice president and deputy president.

Zaiton, who is the chief executive officer of the Malaysia Professional Accountancy Centre (MyPAC) and chairman of digital bank GX Bank Bhd, takes over as president from Melanie Proffitt from the UK.

Noting that she has deep experience across auditing, banking and governance, ACCA described her as a champion of wider access to the accountancy profession.

"Her presidency comes at a time of change for accountants who are experiencing a widening of their roles as AI and new technologies bring new opportunities and challenges," the association said. "At the same time, a greater focus on sustainability and social value is changing how they measure success."

Zaiton said in the statement that the ACCA has shaped her life and career. "I came into this profession because it was open to anyone willing to work for it, whatever their background, and I’ve seen how it can lift people and whole communities. Opportunity is everything, and accountancy remains one of the most powerful routes to it," she said.

She added: "Our newly redesigned ACCA qualification retains an open access route and will help to change the face of accountancy education worldwide, preparing the next generation for a profession where technology is taking on routine work and freeing accountants for work of far greater value. That value lies in the judgment, insight and ethics that only people can bring."

Zaiton is joined in the leadership of ACCA’s global governing council by deputy president Cristina Gutu, a KPMG director from Romania, and vice president Gary Kent, a senior leader in regional government, from Canada.